The 11 best-ever starts to a Premier League season

Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Southampton at the weekend further extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to a whopping eight points after just 12 games played.

The Reds have already amassed an impressive 31 points – a total that has only been reached 10 times in Premier League history. Eight of those clubs went on to win the title.

Here, we recall the 11 best starts to a Premier League season, including Liverpool’s impressive start to life under Arne Slot. In the case of a tiebreaker, we’ve separated teams first by the lead they had at the time, and then by the amount of goals scored.

11

Arsenal

31 points, 2022/23

Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City appeared to have made a mistake by letting Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko move to Arsenal in the summer of 2022.

With the pair in their team, the Gunners started the 2022/23 Premier League season with ten wins, one draw and one loss from their first 12 games – form that saw them amass 31 points and a two-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table.

Ultimately, however, City won the title on the penultimate weekend, somewhat vindicating their decision to let Jesus and Zinchenko move to north London.

10

Manchester United

31 points, 2006/07

A 5-1 victory over Fulham on the opening day of the 2006/07 season saw Manchester United instantly claim the Premier League’s top spot.

9 more wins from their next 11 games saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, minus a brief two-week slip in September, maintain that position, and by mid-November, they were three points clear of Chelsea at the head of the table.

9

Newcastle United

31 points, 1995/96

In 1995/96, Newcastle United, led by manager Kevin Keegan and bolstered by new recruits Les Ferdinand and David Ginola, won nine of their first dozen matches, recording wins over Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea to go five points clear at the top.

Ferdinand scored 14 goals in those 12 games – a record that stood until Man City’s Erling Haaland scored 17 in the same timeframe in 2022/23.

The Magpies stayed top until February, but a run of five defeats in eight eventually saw them concede the title to Manchester United.

8

Chelsea

31 points, 2005/06

In what was Jose Mourinho’s second season in charge during his first spell at Chelsea, the Blues got off to a flyer in the Premier League, winning ten, drawing one, and losing one of their first dozen games.

By matchday 12, Mourinho’s side, who had kept six clean sheets in their first six games, were six points clear of second-placed Wigan Athletic (yes, really) at the top of the table.

7

Liverpool

31 points, 2024/25

Following the departure of long-standing manager Jurgen Klopp in the summer, it was expected that Liverpool would take time to get used to life under successor Arne Slot.

Instead, the Reds have already soared into an eight-point lead in the Premier League after 12 games, having recorded wins over Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

Their only defeat has come at the hands of Nottingham Forest, who beat them 1-0 back in September 2024.

6

Manchester United

31 points, 1993/94

No team in Premier League history has had a bigger lead at the top of the table after 12 games than Manchester United in 1993/94.

By late October, the Red Devils were already nine points ahead of second-placed Norwich City, who they had beaten 2-0 on the opening day thanks to goals from Ryan Giggs and Bryan Robson.

Unsurprisingly, United went on to win the title by an eight-point margin.

5

Manchester City

32 points, 2018/19

In 2018/19, City won 10 and drew 2 of their opening 12 Premier League games to amass a two-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the table.

Pep Guardiola’s side scored 36 goals in those dozen matches, beating Huddersfield Town and Southampton 6-1, as well as Burnley by five goals. They also enjoyed a 3-1 Manchester derby win over United thanks to goals from David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan.

4

Chelsea

32 points, 2014/15

The 2014/15 season was Chelsea’s first since 2000/01 without talisman Frank Lampard, who had joined Man City in the summer.

His absence proved not to matter, as the Blues went undefeated in their first 14 games. After 12, they had amassed 32 points and were six points clear of surprise package Southampton at the top.

Summer signing Diego Costa was their main man, scoring 11 times in his first 10 Premier League games, including in wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.

3

Manchester City

34 points, 2011/12

Managed at the time by Roberto Mancini, Man City won a then-record 11 of their first 12 games, most notably thumping rivals United 6-1 at Old Trafford to record their biggest win in the Manchester derby.

During the game, Mario Balotelli unveiled an undershirt that read “Why Always Me?” after opening the scoring, seemingly responding to tabloid stories about his controversial behaviour off the pitch.

2

Liverpool

34 points, 2019/20

Liverpool won 11 of their first 12 Premier League games in the 2019/20 season to soar into an eight-point lead over second-placed Leicester City, scoring 28 goals in the process. After that, they won their next 15 on the trot.

Despite a slip in form in the final couple of months of the campaign, the Reds’ near-perfect start was more than enough to see them clinch their first league title since 1990.

1

Manchester City

34 points, 2017/18

Like Liverpool in 2019/20, City won all but one of their opening dozen games in the top flight back in 2017/18 to open up an eight-point lead at the top.

However, Guardiola’s men managed 12 more goals than the Reds, scoring an astonishing 40 times – 16 of which came courtesy of strike duo Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, who scored eight apiece.

Wingers Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane also scored seven and six respectively.